Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

Photos by Jeff Harris

Bea is a pre-teen girl on summer vacation with her parents in Georgian Bay. Her mom lives and works in Toronto, while her dad is running the family gas bar and diner he inherited from his dad. Bea’s parents are at odds about whether to sell or keep the place and Bea, sensing the discord is prone to panic attacks. So she is relieved to meet a local girl, Kate, who is much tougher – and less chicken — than she is. She teaches Bea the facts of life. But when their friendship intensifies, bad things start to happen at Porcupine Lake.

Porcupine Lake is the latest movie by celebrated Toronto filmmaker Ingrid Veninger, known for her tender funny and sometimes shocking personal stories. It explores the fragility, naivite and tenacity of young Canadian girls. Porcupine Lake is having it’s World Premier at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Hi, This is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

Some movie actors say they’re just meat puppets, mouthing lines and showing off their faces and bodies before a camera. It’s just tits, ass, face and voice. But what if their faces, bodies and voices are completely covered by giant masks and furry animal costumes? Is that even acting?

Well, a new movie about acting students asks just that question. It’s a comedy/ drama called The Animal Project and it opens today in Toronto. It’s directed by Toronto filmmaker Ingrid Veninger known for her experimental but totally accessible films — movies like Modra and I am a good person/I am a bad person — made on shoestring budgets. These are movies that straddle the line between fiction and documentary.

I spoke with Ingrid Veninger at the Spoke Club about The Animal Project, actors, dreams, the importance of costumes, line-trading, colour-blind casting, meta-stories, amateurs vs professionals, spontaneity, impromptu scenes… and what she would do with an unlimited budget.